Here is the current draw for the 2008 Melbourne Cup

 Selection Win   Place
SEPTIMUS    4.50  1.87 
MAD RUSH  7.00  2.50 
EFFICIENT   8.50  2.87 
NOM DU JEU 11.00  3.50 
ALL THE GOOD 13.00  4.00 
PROFOUND BEAUTY 13.00  4.00 
CEST LA GUERRE 19.00  5.50 
BAUER   21.00  6.00 
HONOLULU 21.00  6.00 
LITTORIO 21.00  6.00 
ZIPPING 21.00  6.00 
VIEWED 26.00  7.25 
GALLOPIN 31.00  8.50 
MASTER OREILLY 31.00  8.50 
RED RULER 41.00  11.00 
ALESSANDRO VOLTA 51.00  13.50 
BARBARICUS 51.00  13.50 
ZAGREB 51.00  13.50 
BOUNDLESS 61.00  16.00 
ICE CHARIOT 61.00  16.00 
VAREVEES 61.00  16.00 
YELLOWSTONE 81.00  21.00 
ZARITA 81.00  21.00 
BAUGHURST 101.00  26.00 
MOATIZE 101.00  26.00 
NEWPORT 101.00  26.00 
PRIZE LADY 101.00  26.00 
RED LORD 101.00  26.00 
LARGO LAD 121.00  31.00 
GUYNO 151.00  38.50 
MAGIC INSTINCT 151.00  38.50 
RIVA SAN 151.00  38.50 
CHIEFCOMINGFIRST 201.00  51.00 
SADDLERS STORY 201.00  51.00 
GET UP JUDE 251.00  63.50 
BOOK OF KELLS 301.00  76.00 
CAPECOVER 301.00  76.00 
DANDAAD 301.00  76.00 
GLISTENING 401.00  101.00

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TEN years of chasing has taught trainer Saeed Bin Suroor the traits a horse needs to win a Melbourne Cup.

“You need a horse with class, that stays and has the speed,” Bin Suroor said yesterday - the first morning he has been at the Sandown quarantine centre this year.

He says All The Good, aiming to become the 12th horse to complete the Caulfield-Melbourne Cups double and the first since Ethereal in 2001, is that horse.

“You need a horse that handles fast ground,” he said.

“I think this year we have the right horse. To win the Caulfield Cup, that is good enough to take him with some confidence to the Melbourne Cup.”

Bin Suroor trained Give The Slip, the runner-up behind Ethereal in the 2001 Cup.

Winning jockey Scott Seamer found better ground in the centre of the track, while Richard Hills kept Give The Slip hard against the rails.

Bin Suroor described the Melbourne Cup as “one of the best races in the world”.

“We’ve finished second twice and third another time - that shows you how difficult the race is,” he said.

“We’ve won most of the big races around the world, except the Melbourne Cup, the Japan Cup and Kentucky Derby.

“He (All The Good) has the class. He’s won over a mile and six (2800m) quite easy and he won the Caulfield Cup, but the Melbourne Cup is a different race — better horses and a longer distance.

“But he likes the ground, he has the class and the speed, and if he relaxes in the race, I think he’ll stay.”

Asked if he thought the Aidan O’Brien-trained Septimus had a mortgage on the Cup, Bin Suroor distanced himself from talking about horses outside his stable.

But he did acknowledge that Septimus was a “good horse, a very good horse”.

All The Good will canter again today and have his first serious gallop since the Caulfield Cup at Sandown tomorrow.

Bin Suroor said he would not ask Kerrin McEvoy to partner All The Good in the 1200m workout, leaving it to track rider Terry Cook.

He said McEvoy knew the horse and he wanted to keep the same routine heading into the Melbourne Cup.

Source: Herald Sun

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Well, the Melbourne Cup carnival is in full swing.

Last weekend local punters saw the English stayer All The Good walk away with the $2.5 million Caulfield Cup.

The 6 year old, ridden by former Melbourne Cup winning hoop Kerrin McEvoy, saluted at 50-1 from the winner of this year’s AJC Derby, Nom De Jeu.

Barbaricus - which was completely unwanted in the betting - clung on to third place from the fast-finishing Kiwi, Mad Rush.

This weekend all eyes are on Moonee valley for the running of the $3 million W.S Cox Plate, over 2,040 metres.

It’s regarded as the world’s premier weight-for-age race.

Previous winners include the likes of champions Makybe Diva, Kingston Town, Phar Lap, Tulloch and Sunline.

Unfortunately, nothing contesting this year’s Cox Plate is of that calibre.

The favourite is the New Zealand mare Princess Coup.

But she’ll have the job ahead, from barrier nine.

Her jockey Opie Bosson has, unfortunately, made headlines in his home country after being embroiled in a drug testing investigation.

It’s understood fellow jockey Bruce Herd was asked to provide a urine sample for testing, but asked Bosson to provide it for him.

And it’s alleged Bosson did so.

The investigation into all of that is still on-going.

So Bosson has a bit to ride for.

But Princess Coup has got form on the board.

Two starts back she easily accounted for Nom De Jeu in the Stoney Bridge at Hastings.

And we all saw Nom Du Jeu’s performance in the Caulfield Cup last weekend.

Many would argue she only has to reproduce the Hastings run to figure prominently in the Cox Plate.

And then there’s the Sydney filly Samantha Miss - a recent winner of the Princess Series.

She’ll carry a postage stamp - 47.5 kilos, and she’s drawn beautifully in barrier two.

Her jockey Glen Boss hasn’t had the easiest of fortnights.

Boss has been forced to shed nearly 4 kilos to make the weight.

But, he says, he’ll be right come 4:05pm on Saturday.

Outside of Princess Coup and Samantha Miss, look for horses like Zipping, Master O’Reilly and Sirmione to be running on from a Melbourne Cup perspective.

And if the Gai Waterhouse runner Thesio turns in his Epsom Handicap run, he’ll be right in the finish.

So after all is said and done on Saturday, it’s on to Derby day the following week at Flemington.

And just three days later, it’s the race that stops the nation - the running of the 147th Melbourne Cup.

Source: Macquarie National News

TRAINER Ross McDonald and jockey Brad Rawiller are convinced champion Weekend Hussler will stay, but many of the nation’s leading form experts believe the horse’s stamina limitations will be expose in today’s $2.5million Caulfield Cup.

“I am 110 per cent confident, I think he can win and prove the critics wrong,” McDonald said.

Rawiller also stated his case about Weekend Hussler’s staying potential in a Melbourne newspaper column, saying: “I said the day he won the George Ryder (1500m) in April he would stay. I base that on the way he came back under me, his great rhythm and cruising speed. He can sustain a sprint like nothing else I’ve ridden. That day he felt like he could go all day like that.

“When he sprints he keeps lengthening stride and gets stronger.”

But TAB Sportsbet’s Glenn Munsie has a different view, believing Weekend Hussler won’t run out the Caulfield Cup (2400m) distance.

“Weekend Hussler has never won beyond 1800m but he has topweight of 57kg in a 2400m handicap — he’s a big risk,” Munsie said.

“I don’t like horses going into a Group I race off a bad last-start run, either.”

Timeform’s Gary Crispe said that in Weekend Hussler’s only run at 2000m, he rated well below his best Timeform rating of 130 achieved winning the George Ryder Stakes over 1500m last start.

“The history of past Caulfield Cup winners clearly shows the winners must have at least been proven at 2000m and desirably at 2400m,” Crispe said.

“Sadly, this rules Weekend Hussler out of the Caulfield Cup- winning equation.

“Even though he is the highest- rated Timeform horse in Australia, and a great horse at that, to my mind he must have a rating that transposes to 2400m to be considered a genuine winning chance.”

Form guru Dominic Beirne said there was still “zero evidence” that Weekend Hussler would stay.

“The Caulfield 1800m is a simple test; over 80 per cent of weight-for-age races there are won by horses near the lead,” Beirne said.

“In the Underwood, he ran the equal-slowest last 600m and last 200m of the day.”

Mark Morrissey, the form expert from Col Tidy’s betting organisation, said he thought the alarm bells started to ring even when Weekend Hussler won the Underwood Stakes.

“He wasn’t able to break away from them that day,” he said.

Today, Weekend Hussler will answer the debate on his staying capabilities one way or the other.
Source: Daily Telegraph
Caulfield Cup field      Trainer Jockey  
1. 1118 Weekend Hussler (11) R McDonald B Rawiller 57kg
2. 2446 Maldivian (18) M Kavanagh M Rodd 56.5kg
3. 8-62 Master O’Reilly (13) D O’Brien V Duric 56.5kg
4. 4130 Fiumicino (4) M, W and J Hawkes S W Arnold 56kg
5. 7998 Kibbutz (5) D Hayes Scratched 55.5kg
6. 2D23 Nom de Jeu (20) M Baker (NZ) J Lloyd 55.5kg
7. 2212 Mad Rush (17) L Cumani (GB) D Oliver 55kg
8. -491 All The Good (8) S bin Suroor (GB) K McEvoy 54.5kg
9. -081 Duoro Valley (3) D O’Brien J Winks 54.5kg
10. -333 Ice Chariot (2) R Maund G Schofield 54.5kg
11. 1-87 Viewed (14) B Cummings B Shinn 54.5kg
12. -331 Littorio (10) N Blackiston S King 54kg
13. -402 Red Ruler (1) J Sargent (NZ) C Brown 54kg
14. -154 Boundless (6) S McKee (NZ) D Dunn 53.5kg
15. 7041 Dolphin Jo (12) T and K O’Sullivan C Lindop 53kg
16. -862 Riva San (9) P Moody L Nolen 53kg
17. 5210 Zagreb (7) D Hayes G Boss 52kg
18. 1153 Guillotine (21) D Hayes C Williams 51.5kg
19E. 3432 Barbaricus (22) D O’Brien S Baster 52kg
20E. 1091 Newport (16) P Perry Scratched 53kg
21E. 1128 Red Lord (19) A Cummings Scratched 53kg
22E. 1456 Moatize (15) B Cummings Scratched 51.5kg

Trainer Mark Kavanagh says the favourite Whobegotyou may have to come from last to win Saturday’s Group One $1 million Caulfield Guineas after drawing barrier 12 today.

Whobegotyou, TAB Sportsbet’s $3.80 favourite after the barrier draw, will be trying to emulate Helenus who was the last horse to complete the Bill Stutt Stakes-Guineas double in 2002.

Drawing the coveted barrier one was Caulfield Guineas Prelude winner Fernandina, trained by Leon Corstens who won the race with Helenus.

The Caulfield Guineas October 11th 2008 may well be anyones race for the taking.  Sydney galloper Rhyno Chaser has already been scratched, making the way for first emergency Whitefriars. 

NSW 3 yr old Gai Waterhouse trained Dreamscape looks to be an up and coming favourite for the race and has achieved a lot in a short period. - winning the Up & Coming Stakes at debut and at only his third start proving far too strong for his rivals.

Here is the draw for the 2008 Caulfield Guineas..
1   Von Costa de Hero      
2   Duporth       
3   All American 
4   Rockdale    
5   Carnero      
6   Fernandina      
7   Dreamscape     
8   Baci Amore
9  Rhyno Chaser  Scratched
10   Tindal      
11   Whobegotyou    
12   Minnesota Shark     
13   Lord Tavistock    
14   Time Thief
15   Gogocanny 
16  Related  Scratched
17   Whitefriars     
18   Georgia`s Boy     
19   Bondarchuk (3E)   
20   Bright Deputy (4E) 

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This year the Spring Racing Carnival in Melbourne is going to be huge!  Showcasing 50 days of world class horse racing spread over 85 race meets with millions of dollars of prize money to be won!

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From the BMW Caulfield Cup at Caulfield, Tatts Cox Plate at Moonee Valley and Emirates Melbourne Cup at Flemington, these Victorian races are the highlight of the horse racing carnival and are complemented by featured country meetings in all parts of Victoria.

The Spring Racing Carnival includes 20 Country Cups at venues such as Ararat, Avoca, Ballarat, Benalla, Bendigo, Cranbourne, Donald, Dunkeld, Geelong, Kyneton, Mansfield, Manangatang, Moe, Murtoa, Sale, Seymour and Mt. Whycheproof.

While the undisputed heroes of the Carnival are the horses and jockey’s, the people and fashions are unique and entertaining.  Whether it’s the horses, the jockeys and trainers, the fashion or just a great day out, this year’s Spring Racing Carnival will be bigger and better than ever.

The Spring Racing Carnival is officially launched in Melbourne on Wednesday 1 October and concludes with the running of the James and Son Ballarat Cup on Wednesday 19 November 2008.

It has asked the Department of Internal Affairs for permission to show the virtual races at TAB outlets.

But that would need a law change.

These computer-generated horse races are run at TAB outlets in some parts of Australia and the UK, and now the New Zealand racing board wants them introduced here too.

“What industry are they in?” asks Graeme Ramsay of the Problem Gaming Foundation. “Because if they’re moving down this path when their own customers aren’t asking them to, does that mean that they see themselves as part of the gambling industry and competing with casinos?”

The Racing Board has asked the Department of Internal Affairs to amend the rules to allow it to offer betting on virtual races.

Internal Affairs released a statement to 3 News saying this form of gambling would be subject to “limits on bets and maximum prizes, along with harm prevention and minimisation provisions”.

These requirements are such that it is unlikely any application to run virtual racing would be successful as the Gambling Act currently stands. So an amendment to the act would need to be put forward, and the Racing Board is keeping quiet about whether it plans to lobby for one.

The Racing Board refused a request by 3 News for an interview. CEO Graham Hanson says Internal Affairs’ response is still in his in tray, and he has not yet decided if he will take it further. He says it is one of many things he has under consideration.

UNDEFEATED colt Sebring overcame a tardy start to win the Group I Golden Slipper at Rosehill, the world’s richest race for two-year-olds.

The Gai Waterhouse-trained, Glen Boss-ridden galloper started $6 favourite and was driven through along the inside of the track in the straight to narrowly Von Costa De Hero ($15) by a half-head.

Waterhouse, who won her third Slipper after the successes of Ha Ha in 2001 and Dance Hero four years, said she hadn’t been so excited “in years”.

“I knew he’d won, he made up ground so brilliantly,” she said.

Boss rode Sebring coolly after his slow beginning and found the gaps near the inside to beat Von Costa de Hero in a photo-finish.

“What a great moment,” Boss said.

“This is a very, very special horse. He blew the start but kept his composure and was very strong on the line.

“I feel sorry for Blake but he’s a young bloke and he’ll bounce back from this.

“It is an incredible feeling to win. He missed the start but he kept his composure even though he lost his footing in the wet ground a couple of times.

“I felt like he was going to win at the 200-metre mark. He is a very special horse.”

It was Boss’s second Slipper victory after his win on Flying Spur, another late pick-up ride, in 1995.

Waterhouse trains Sebring for a huge syndicate put together by Denise Martin’s Star Thoroughbreds.

“This is what is so good about Australian racing,” Waterhouse said.

“You can buy a share in a horse for $20,000 and here we are winning a three-and-a-half-million dollar race.”

Von Costa de Hero was one of four runners for David Hayes with All American fifth, Hips Don’t Lie seventh and Blue Diamond Stakes winner Reaan last of the 16 runners.

“Obviously the barrier (15) didn’t help Von Costa,” Hayes said.

“He would have settled midfield if he’d drawn a barrier. He’s a genuine star and we will have a look at the Sires and Champagne Stakes now.”

Portillo ran 1-3/4 lengths third in what was her last start in the all cerise colours of the Ingham family, with Sheik Mohammed’s Darley Stud due to get the final stamp of approval for its purchase of Woodlands Stud racing and breeding empire.

“She was very very brave, she fought all the way to the line,” trainer Peter Snowden said.

“It wasn’t the ideal preparation to run her three weeks in a row but there’s only once chance at a Golden Slipper so I thought why not give it a crack.”

- with AAP & FOX Sports

Betfair is the world’s leading betting exchange, a concept it pioneered.

All bets on Betfair are placed there by users who either want to bet for a selection or outcome in the normal way (back), or bet against a selection or outcome (lay). Bets are matched between people with opposing views.

Betfair is a licensed bookmaker in the UK. It also has licences in Australia, Malta, Austria and Germany.

Why Betfair?

Betfair offers you unprecedented choice, value and control.

• You can bet that an outcome will happen (back) or that it won’t happen (lay).
• You can choose the odds you want to play at.
• You can bet whilst the game is in play.

How do I use the Exchange?

When you “back” a selection (be it an individual, a team, horse, dog or other), you are betting that it will win. This is just like betting with a conventional bookie.

When you “lay” it, you are betting against it winning. For example, if you’re betting in a market on which team is going to win the Premiership and you lay Sydney Swans, you offer odds to other punters who wish to back Sydney Swans. If Sydney Swans don’t win, then you pick up the backer’s stake. If Sydney Swans wins, then you pay out. This is what bookmakers traditionally do.

Although Betfair knows who is on each side of every bet matched through the exchange, you never know who you are betting against. Your privacy and the confidentiality of your bets is maintained by Betfair’s secure site.

Choose your odds

If you want better odds than are currently available, you can place an order for a better price, but be realistic because there has to be somebody prepared to lay the bet at those odds, and vice versa.

Take a look at the odds before an event and you will see them change as Betfair members back and lay their bets. The odds often improve nearer to the off as the number of people in the market increases.

Betfair is licensed by the Tasmanian Gaming Commission.

SEBRING has been listed the clear favourite for the Golden Slipper after drawing barrier No.6 for the feature race at Rosehill.

The colt was made the $4.80 favourite with TAB Sportsbet as a result of his favourable draw allied with proven form on wet tracks. Such prove may prove invaluable given the likelihood of a rain-affected track at Rosehill.

The Bart Cummings-trained Related, and Von Costa de Hero, were equal second picks at $8 before the barrier draw, drifted to $11 and $13 respectively after coming up with gates No.16 and No.17 in the field of 16 plus two emergencies.

Leon Macdonald, trainer of Magic Millions winner Augusta Proud, was extremely happy after selecting barrier No.1 for his filly.

Unbeaten from six starts, Augusta Proud was not among the original nominations for the Golden Slipper but her owners paid a $150,000 late entry fee to secure a start.

A disappointed Tony Vasil attended the draw at Sydney’s Martin Place but made a hasty exit after Blue Diamond Stakes placegetter Burgeis drew the outside gate in No.18.

She blew from a $14 chance out to $21 as a result, while All American, one of four runners for David Hayes, also eased from $9 to $11 after drawing awkwardly in barrier No.14.

Hayes had mixed luck, though, with Blue Diamond Stakes winner Reaan drawing well in No.4 and Hips Don’t Lie in N.9.

Over The Wicket from the Gary Portelli stable was a big firmer from $26 to $15 after coming up with gate No.7.

He is also proven in the wet, with his lone victory coming on a slow track.

The two emergencies, Siennas Fury and Typhoon Fury, drew barriers No.10 and No.15 respectively.

AAP

New South Wales’ Autumn Racing Carnival features a glorious 50 days of thoroughbred racing.

The Autumn Racing Carnival includes 120 race meetings and a host of social events and celebrations. From Lismore on the North Coast, Albury on the Victorian border and as far west as Cobar and Lightning Ridge there are a wealth of charismatic meetings to experience.

The Carnival kicks off on Easter Saturday March 22 with the first of Royal Randwick’s race meetings and concludes on May 10 with the Hawkesbury Race Club’s Gold Cup, which grows in stature and prestige every year and in 2008 will offer over $500,000 in prizemoney.

Highlights of the carnival include:

• The world’s richest 2 year old event - the Sydney Turf Club’s AAMI Golden Slipper Stakes which offers prizemoney of over $3.5 million on Saturday April 19 and;
• The Australian Jockey Club’s Emirates Doncaster Day & David Jones Australian Derby which are arguably two of the most historic and prestigious races anywhere in the world on Saturday April 26.
• The William Inglis & Son Easter Yearling and Broodmare sales from April 20 to May 6 where the very best of Australian Thoroughbreds hit the sales ring under the famous Moreton Bay Fig tree.